FBI investigating possible cyber hack of NY Times's Moscow bureau

Washington: The FBI is investigating attempted cyber intrusions targeting reporters of The New York Times and is looking into whether Russian intelligence agencies are responsible for the acts, a US official said Tuesday.

The Times reported on Tuesday evening that the attempted cyber attack targeted the newspaper's Moscow bureau, and that there was no evidence that it was successful. No internal systems at the newspaper have been compromised, a Times spokeswoman said.

"We are constantly monitoring our systems with the latest available intelligence and tools," Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said in a statement. "We have seen no evidence that any of our internal systems, including our systems in the Moscow bureau, have been breached or compromised."

Representational image. Reuters

CNN first reported the FBI's investigation. A US official who was not authorised to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that an investigation was underway.

The news comes as federal authorities continue to investigate a breach of the Democratic National Committee that outside cybersecurity experts have attributed to Russian intelligence agencies and that led to the posting of embarrassing internal emails.

Though the Obama administration has not publicly blamed the attack on the Russians, President Barack Obama has noted that outside experts have blamed Russia and suggested Russian President Vladimir Putin may have reason to facilitate the attack.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and other Democratic entities have also been affected.

Earlier this month, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi advised fellow Democrats not to allow family members to answer their phones or read incoming texts after a mix of personal and official information of Democratic members and hundreds of congressional staff — purportedly from a hack of the DCCC — was posted online.

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